Competency-Based Education and Assessment: Help Is on the Way

Competency-Based Education and Assessment:

Help Is on the Way

TESC National Institute on the Assessment of Adult Learning



National concern about rising

costs and accountability in higher

education

 Employers’ changing work force needs and their

concerns about college grads’ preparation –

Colleges are concerned about high school grads’ preparation.

 National push for degree completion  New technology and innovation

 Interdependent world, changing demographics

 What does a degree mean?

 Academic quality/ perceived value

of college degree by:

 Students  Employers

 Cost

“The American public and senior administrators at U.S. colleges and universities overwhelmingly

agree that higher education is in

crisis

America’s Call for Higher Education Redesign – Feb 2013.

Lumina/Gallup Survey

87%

75%

of Americans think students should be able to receive college credit for knowledge and skills acquired

outside the classroom

would be more likely to enroll in higher ed if they could receive credit for what they already know

America’s Call for Higher Education Redesign – Feb 2013.

Lumina/Gallup Survey

70%

student demonstrates that they have mastered material in less time, the student should get

credit for a course without completing the full session (typically 16 weeks)

The Big Shift

Old paradigm: expand ACCESS to higher education New paradigm: offer high-quality education that is affordable

- With fewer resources

- With a more diverse and “non-traditional” student body

Learning is now what is important, -not how, when, or how long it took to learn: CBE and PLA!

Change in How Higher Ed is Viewed

TIME FIXED

Why

Competencies?

Quality

 Clearly define what graduates are expected to

know, do

 Communicate these expectations to students,

employers Cost Saving

 Direct Assessment model offers potential cost

saving through technology-based curriculum, assessment, and student support

Definition of

Competencies

 Beyond “learning outcomes”

 Not just skills and knowledge, but also

ability to apply learning in different

situation

 Specific in terms of

levels

performance

Variations in terms of:

 Ties to the credit hour

 Types of learning activities  Role of faculty

 Methods of assessment

Many Models of

Defined Comps Employers Colleges Innovators and Professional Certifications K12

 Lumina

 Public Agenda – Learning Communities

and C-Ben

 CBE Jumpstart

 New America Foundation/Amy Laitinen

– collaboration with DoE on policy

 DQP

 Gates

 Community College Consulting

National Efforts

 Antioch U  Argosy U

 Brandman U

 Broward College  Capella U

 Charter Oak State

College  City U of Seattle  DePaul U  Excelsior College  Lipscomb U  Northern Arizona U  Salt Lake CC  Southern New Hampshire U

C-BEN Participants

 Texas Higher Ed Coordinating Board (Texas A&M U-Commerce and South Texas College)  U of Maine at Presque Isle  U of Maryland  Westminster College  Kentucky Community & Technical College System  University of Wisconsin-Extension

C-BEN Participants

 Antioch University  Austin CC  Central Wyoming College  Empire State College–SUNY  Excelsior College  Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Ed/Commonwealth College  Paul Smith’s College  University of Maryland-University College  University of New England  Cuyahoga Community College – 2015 16

Incubator Participants

 Kalamazoo Valley Community College  Los Angeles Trade Technical College

 The New School  Golden Gate University  LeTourneau University  IUPUI Valdosta State University  Minnesota State Colleges and University Syste

Jumpstart Participants- Rd 1

 Community College of Philadelphia  Davenport University

 Pace University

 University of Toledo  Granite State College

 Missouri Department of Higher

Education/Missouri Community College Association

CAEL’s CBE Jumpstart

CBA Through LC.org

 LC.org to assess competencies tied to

degree framework based on DQP

 Work with SME’s to develop

competency framework and related rubrics for assessment

 Five institutions will commit to

 Sending 10 business admin students to

LC.org

 Accepting dual transcript showing credit

Research and Documentation

post-surveys for participants on their views of CBE/CBA

 Follow up with 10-12 per year

 TA: Publish 3-4 case studies

per year on CBE programs

 Dual transcript: Interviews

with institution personnel before and after transcripts

 Where to start? A new course/micro credential (incremental), program, certificate, degree or

institutional shift? PLA? Model: Hybrid or D.A.  Faculty roles?

 Faculty governance and organization?  Framework? Existing, new, or combination?

 Working with community, employers?  Ensuring we fulfill our mission

 Transfer and articulation

 Determining the learning outcomes

(competencies, skills, knowledge sets) that students must achieve in order to earn the credential (micro, certificate, or degree).

 Determining how best to

demonstrate the learning

 Designing the assessments/rubrics  Ensuring link with K12, employers,

 Locating the learning resources,

materials, texts, exercises, etc.

 Mentoring, coaching students

 Determining how competencies fit

throughout the curriculum, levels of competencies (proficiency to

mastery), overlap/reinforcement of competencies

 Teaching/Assessing

 Infrastructure concerns: SIS

 How will we produce a transcript?  Business model: Will the subscription

model work for us? Or, should we keep with our current tuition structure and credit hours?

 Permissions: DOE, Regional

Accrediting Body, State

 Resources for planning: such as

providing release time for faculty, applying for

Direct Assessment Elements

 Degree based on student demonstrating a

predetermined set of competencies

 Student learns through a variety of modes  Faculty serve as mentors and advisors

 Separate faculty as assessors

 Competency-based assessments, with

format dependent on the competency assessed

 Students complete assessments at their

Direct Assessment Programs

Western Governors University

KCTCS Learn on Demand

SNHU College for America N. Arizona U Personalized Learning Westminster College University of Wisconsin Extension Excelsior School of Nursing Iron Range Engineering …and more in development

 Students demonstrate mastery of

competencies by completing tasks

 Project-based learning

 Authentic, engaging and relevant

 Students can revise and resubmit

until they demonstrate mastery

 Students may also take third-party,

nationally normed assessments

College for America Program

Students must demonstrate120 Competencies for AA Degree in General Studies available through employer-sponsored

programs only.

Southern New Hampshire University

Foundational

Knowledge Personal and Social Skills ContentKnowledge

Communication Skills Personal Effectiveness Science, Society, and Culture

Creative and Critical

Thinking Ethics and Social Responsibility Elective Quantitative Skills Teamwork and

Collaboration Digital Fluency and

 20 Task Families

 5 to 8 competencies per family

 Three Task Levels

 Each Task comes complete with:

 Overview  Instructions

 Resources for skill-building  Rubric

 Rubrics are tied to specific

deliverables (such as papers,

projects, spreadsheets) designed to demonstrate the competency.

 Each Rubric has multiple criteria

(the specific learning outcomes) on which the student is rated:

SNHU College for America

 UW Colleges are offering:

 Associate of Arts & Sciences Degree*

 UW Milwaukee is offering:

 RN to BSN

 Biomedical Sciences Diagnostic

Imaging Degree Completion Program

 Bachelor in Information Science and

Technology

 Business & Technical Communications

Certificate

3-Month Subscription Model

 Academic Success Coach – points to all

materials for prep, mentors, helps through processes (even financial aid)

Subscription model levels:

1. “All you can learn” so you can complete as many competency sets as possible

2. Focus on a single competency set (for a slower, less expensive pace)

A competency set is a grouping of competencies that together make up the skills and knowledge in a specific education area

 Multiple pathways to a credential

 Direct assessment

 On-the-ground traditional courses  Prior learning assessment

 Conversion of competencies to

credit hours

Examples of Hybrid Models

 DePaul University School for New

Learning (Chicago)

 Lipscomb University (TN)

 University of Maryland University College  Charter Oak State College (CT)

 Uses behavioral assessments

(including simulations) similar to what employers use in making high stakes hiring decisions.

 First university to use the

Polaris® competency model system.

 CORE = Customized,

Outcomes-Based, Relevant, Evaluation

 Degree program: CPS in

Organizational Leadership

 15 relevant competencies are

assessed (like a pre-test)

 Students benefit from a Customized

Development Plan for target

competencies (for personalized learning).

 Still uses a course structure

 The Lipscomb

program is designed to

appeal to both degree-seeking and those adults seeking

e-Credentials

 Competency is a persistent pattern of

behavior associated with effective performance resulting in a positive organizational

consequence)

Active Listening

 direct eye contact, verbal and non-verbal

affirmations (nodding, “uh huh’s”),

paraphrasing, smiles, summarizing, open probe questions, etc.

 Taken from Lipscomb University Website, March 2014

Competency-based

Assessment

SAMPLE COMPETENCIES

 Can use logic, reasoning and analysis to address a basic business problem

 Can write a business memo

 _{Can use a spreadsheet to perform}

calculations

 Can synthesize material from multiple

sources to reach conclusion

 Can evaluate information and its sources

critically

Example of Assessment

OVERVIEW: You will use your critical thinking skills to weigh two options and recommend one. You will summarize your thinking in a formal memo

RESOURCES:

Students are provided with links online to potential vender proposals, as well as advertising brochures and the results of an employee opinion survey. They are also given links to resources to related to writing business memos and using spreadsheets.

Example of Assessment

DIRECTIONS:

Your boss has asked you to write a formal memo evaluating two potential vendors for a new vending machine for the employee lounge. Recommend

one vendor to your boss and justify your reasoning. Read and analyze the relevant material and perform any necessary calculations. Use correct spelling

and grammar and spell-check your work before submitting it.

 What we measure must link back to what

we value as an institution.

 Consideration of how competencies

build in complexity over a program in order to develop/prove mastery

 Similar to PLA, the assessments are

wide-ranging – from standardized tests, writing papers, hands-on assignments, to projects and capstones.

 What are we assessing? Defined competency with appropriately designed and validated assessment/rubric

 How will students demonstrate the

learning or mastery of a competency?

 Do we use a binary approach or add

levels of proficiency?

 Who will assess it?

 How do we help the student try again?

 Formative and summative assessments

 How can the student check his/her progress?

Practice quiz? Low stakes assignments?

 Performance-based assessments,

narratives/papers, simulations, projects, capstones, portfolios

 Multiple Choice or Standardized Tests  How will the assessments be

administered?

 Are we seeking competency or mastery?

Competency-Based Assessment

 Dorothy Wax

 [email protected]